Friday's Game: Catholic University (26-5) faces
Ohio Northern in the national semifinals. William Paterson (24-4)
faces Illinois Wesleyan (23-6) in the other semifinal. The winners
meet for the championship at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 17.

Streaks: The Cardinals have won 14 in a row;
Ohio Northern 18 straight.

Series History: This is the first meeting
between the schools.

National Rankings: CUA is ranked
14th by D3hoops.com; Ohio Northern is third; William
Paterson 11th and Illinois Wesleyan 17th.

Radio: Tonight's game is being broadcast live
on D3hoops.com. Pat Coleman will handle
play-by-play and Rick Seidel color.

Shhh: If you refer to the 2001 Men's Division
III Basketball Championship as the "Final Four," please make sure
no one from the NCAA sees it or hears it. The NCAA's official Final
Four refers only to the men's and women's Division I tournaments.
But guess what, the NCAA doesn't even own the term "Final Four." It
is using it by permission of the Kentucky High School Athletic
Association. Enough of this rambling, please enjoy this weekend's
Final Four.

Sweet Four You: With their 69-67 victory at
Widener in Chester, Pa., on March 3, the Cardinals became the only
team in the nation to advance to the last four NCAA Sweet 16s. CUA
entered the season as the only school to accomplish the feat the
past three years.

Highway to Heaven: The Cardinals' Northeast
Sectional championship win at Clark on March 10 was their fifth
consecutive NCAA playoff victory on the road. Their conquests
include wins at Lebanon Valley and Goucher in 1999, at William
Paterson last year and at Widener this season.

Record Breakers: The Cardinals have won a
school-record 26 games this season and have already played more
games than any previous CUA basketball team. The Cards earned their
first win over a Division I team since 1981 when they defeated
Albany (N.Y.) 59-56 in the consolation game of the Mohegan Sun
Classic in New Britain, Conn., on Nov. 18. CUA won three
tournaments: the CUA Pepsi Classic, the D3hoops.com Classic and the
CAC Tournament.

Cardinals vs. the Top Five: The Cardinals are
3-1 all-time against teams ranked in the top five nationally:
defeated No. 5 William Paterson 57-52 on March 10, 2000; defeated
No. 1 Rowan 92-88 on Jan. 15, 1996; lost to No. 1 Kentucky Wesleyan
91-46 on Dec. 19, 1966; and defeated No. 3 Evansville 73-71 on Dec.
17, 1966. Coach Mike Lonergan is 2-0 against
top-five teams.

Four & Oh: See the releases for highlights
of CUA's four NCAA tournament wins this season.

Throwing Rice: Cardinal Head Coach Mike
Lonergan, named Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the
Year three times in his nine years at CUA, has a career record of
175-74 (.703). He has the highest winning percentage in school
history and is second all-time in victories. He needs one win to
tie Fred Rice, who posted a record of 176-137
(.562) from 1911-30.

Lonergan in the Big Dance: Coach Mike
Lonergan's NCAA Tournament record is 9-5. He is the only
coach in CUA basketball history to win in the NCAA playoffs. Here's
how Mike's done in the playoffs:

Home: 3-1 | Away: 5-2 | Neutral: 1-2

Tournament Time: The Cardinals are making their
fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and eighth
overall (1944, 1964, 1993, 1996 the others). For a complete history
of CUA's previous playoff history, see page 23 of the Cardinals
2000-01 Media Guide.

Marksman: In his last nine games, sophomore
center Matt Hilleary has made 53 of 78 shots (67.9
%) and 15 of 19 free throws (78.9 %), while blocking 2.8 shots per
game. He recorded double-doubles in both Northeast Sectional
Tournament games with 12 points and a personal-high 13 rebounds vs.
Brockport State, and 12 points and 12 boards at Clark. He's
averaging 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds in the NCAA Tournament.
CUA's most accurate shooter (53.0 %), Hilleary
blocked a career-high six shots against York (Pa.) in the CAC
Tournament on Feb. 22. His 2.4 blocks per game average leads the
CAC.

More and Morley: Freshman forward Will
Morley hit the game-winning shot in the CAC championship
to give the Cardinals a 61-59 victory over Marymount on Feb. 24. He
is third on the team in scoring (10.6 ppg) and rebounding (4.4
rpg), and second in shooting percentage (51.1 %). Unofficially, he
leads CUA in charges taken. He took a big one with 2:25 left in the
Cards' 69-67 victory at Widener on March 3. His basket 28 seconds
later put the Cardinals on top, 68-65. In the playoffs, he's
averaging 14.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and has made 59.5 % (22 of 37)
of his shots and 92.9 % of his free throws. His uncle,
Dutch Morley, played point guard at Maryland from
1978-82.

Free Will: Will Morley leads the CAC in
free-throw percentage (85.3). He has succeeded on 93 of 109. His
best performance was a 9-for-9 effort at Marymount on Jan. 20. In
the Cards' 82-78 playoff win at Clark, he made all six of his foul
shots, including two with 12.4 seconds remaining to give CUA a
six-point lead.

Wise Guy: Reserve sophomore guard Kevin
Wise played a key role in the Cardinals' 82-78 victory at
Clark last week. First he nailed a 3-pointer from the right
baseline to give CUA a 69-65 lead with 2:39 remaining. He clinched
the win by hitting 1 of 2 free throws with seven seconds left for
the final margin. Wise, who overcame two collapsed
lungs the spring of his junior year in high school, is third on the
team in 3-pointers (27 of 70, 38.6 %) and has hit 20 of 24 free
throws (83.3 %). He averages 4.7 points in 10.7 minutes of action
per game.

82 or 69: The Cardinals have scored either 82
or 69 points in their four NCAA Tournament games this season. This
means nothing, but I ran out of good notes and still had this space
to fill.